My family and I had the pleasure of the company of my brother on St Stephen’s Day. We went for a walk along the Flaggy Shore, Co. Clare. To get there you drive south from our house in Kilcolgan, through the village of Kinvara, then after a bit you take a side road along the…
I am proud of my family’s international heritage, which has enriched us more than words can say. My mother-in-law Erika is an Austrian who has lived most of her life in London, and she has contributed the most charming and wonderful things to our extended family. There’s her lovely accent, a pretty, elegant tongue that…
Tuesday night in Gort My youngest, Liv, has started Taekwon-do in Gort Boxing Club. This means that between drop-off and pick-up I spend a couple of hours in a town that is more or less asleep, and certainly pitch dark and freezing cold out in the street. What to do? There’s only so many things…
I was to meet my eldest, Honor, in Galway City to give her money I owed her. We arranged to meet in McCambridge’s on Shop Street at 4pm. Her younger brother Paddy and I decided to go there early, have a pot of tea for two and a cake, and a sketch (me), while we…
Galway is one of those places where everyone celebrates how it’s a thriving, exciting 21st century city. Scratch the surface, though, and its true character is right there. I watched a busker today in Galway City. He’s a guy I’ve seen a million times. His pitch is opposite Eason’s bookshop; sometimes he’s on his own,…
Yesterday members of Urban Sketchers Galway got together in Neachtain’s for an aul’ afternoon’s sketching. There were about eight of us in total, sitting in various nooks and crannies of the pub. Neachtain’s was one of my very favourite pubs when I was a student in Galway University. I’ll even say it was my favourite.…
I’ve been a bit of a grinch of late. Christmas comes around and I get a bit sullen. There are lots of reasons for this, none of which is particularly unusual or original. It’s not fair on Liv, my youngest, though – she’s fourteen and loves getting into the spirit of things at this time…
Every year around Christmas, the visual art group of which I am a member holds a fun exhibition. Each member can submit up to five pieces of art, along three guidelines: they can be no bigger than a postcard, they must not be signed (the buyer discovers the artist after purchase) and they must be…
Sketching outdoors in Galway in December isn’t easy. It’s cold and damp. So I decided to sketch some pub interiors and went into Galway City today, but to my amazement it was warm enough to sit outside. I saw the beautiful exterior of Tigh Cóilí and thought it would make a perfect subject. I had…
Cleaning your daughter’s bedroom is hard on the psyche. I did that today and I needed a restorative pint of beer afterwards, along with a nice relaxing sketch. My husband Marcel and I headed over to Moran’s on the Weir, which is directly across the river from us. It is an estuary rather than a…